Well... what should I say... It was what I expected... not what I
was hoping for... The gig was the same as most from this tour. We
haven't had the pleasure to hear Our Shangri-la, but the rest was the
same as at the concert in Italy. If you ask me, the peaks were Sultans
of Swing and So Far Away.
The concert started with a half an
hour delay, because the audience in the capital of Serbia is
"specific". I honestly think that my fellowcitizen will be late for
their own death!!! It started with Cannibals... you know the rest...
Most of the crowd in Belgrade doesn't know very well the songs after
Dire Straits, so the reaction after the songs before Romeo & Juliet
was maybe mild (comparing to the reaction after DS songs). Nevertheless
people in the floor area stood up at the first song and kept on
standing till the end. And we clapped during the songs, of course. But
Mark's interaction with the crowd was the same (mild, or if I may say
indifferent). This was my first time I went to MK's gig, so I actually
don't know what he's usually like. Between the songs he didn't say
anything (few "thank you"). He only presented the band after Cannibals.
On the first beats of R&J everybody "woke up", clapped, sang
along... and after Sultans of Swing, standing ovation!!! He had to wait
for a couple of minutes before singing the next song! I was a little
bit sad that he chose to play the shorter version of Sultans (not like
On the Night), but never mind, the guitar solo at the end was
amazing!!!
Somebody before me said that MK's Gibson Les Paul
sounds fantastic, and I have to say that I totally agree!!! I was blown
away!!! That's the way all guitars should sound :)))) The sound overall
last night was great! The night before that, Julio Iglesias had a
concert in Arena, so I was a little affraid. I had no reason to be, it
was almost flawless! He was saving his voice a bit, but having in mind
that he sings almost every night, that's understandable.
On balance... I am not disapointed!!! Not at all! Far from that!
I had the opportunity to see and hear one of my idols,someone whom I
thought I would never see in my life! I'm a happy man. But I'd be lying
if I said that I wasn't hoping for more... Why?! Well, simply because
MK's (with Dire Straits) last concert in Belgrade was 22 years ago.
These kind of concerts (setlists) should differ from the rest. It would
have been nice if he said "Hello people, it's been a long time...I'll
make sure that you don't wait to see me for another 20 years..." One of
the girls next to me was screaming for Private Investigation, and I saw
her crying at he end of the show :(((
After all the impression is that this was just another gig for them...
Hopefully Dire Straits will reunite soon (since everybody does) and we'll see him again...
Cheers
I don't know how it happened
It was faster than the eye could flick...